At the onset of the 2012–13 NHL lockout, Burmistrov was assigned by the Jets to their American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate, the St. John's IceCaps, where he would go on to record two goals and nine assists in 22 games, before being recalled to Winnipeg for the start of the shortened 2012–13 season. At season's end, Burmistrov became a restricted free agent and signed a two-year contract with Ak Bars Kazan of the KHL, later explaining in interviews that his departure from the NHL was motivated by dissatisfaction with his role under then-head coach Claude Noël and bitterness over being assigned to the AHL, rather being allowed to pursue a more lucrative offer in Russia, during the lockout.[3]